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Nejd
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Nejd (nĕjd) also Najd (năjd)
A vast plateau region of the central Arabian Peninsula. It was the nucleus for the modern state of Saudi Arabia.
Home > Library > Reference > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Nejd
Region of central Saudi Arabia. Comprising a rocky plateau sloping eastward from the mountains of the Hejaz, it is sparsely settled, except for a few fertile oases. In the mid-18th century it became the centre of the Wahhabi, members of a puritanical Islamic movement that by 1803 had expanded into Mecca. Nejd has been under the rule of the Sa'ud dynasty almost continuously since 1824. It was united with the Hejaz and became the independent kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.
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Home > Library > Reference > Columbia Encyclopedia
Nejd (nĕjd) or Najd (näjd) , region, central Saudi Arabia. Riyadh, the country's capital and major city, is located there. The Nejd is a vast plateau from 2,500 to 5,000 ft (762–1,524 m) high. There is a chain of oasis settlements in the eastern section; elsewhere the area is roamed by nomadic Bedouins. The Nejd, the stronghold of the Wahhabi movement, was gradually conquered (1899–1912) from Turkey by the Wahhabi leader, Ibn Saud. From there he completed his conquest of the Hejaz and Al Hasa. In 1932 the Nejd became part of his newly constituted domain, Saudi Arabia.
Home > Library > Reference > Mideast & N. Africa Encyclopedia
Najd
The central plateau region of Saudi Arabia.
A geographically isolated region of the Arabian peninsula, Najd (the Arabic word for plateau or highland) is bounded in the south by the great sand desert, the Rub al-Khali, and on the east by a long, narrow strip of sand desert known as al-Dahna. To the north lies another sand desert, the Nafud, and to the west, Najd is separated from the Red Sea coast by the mountains of Hijaz and Asir. The plateau is divided into three regions: southern Najd, the home of the eighteenth-century Wahhabi movement and the original home of the ruling Al Saʿud family (main city, Riyadh); Qasim, an agricultural district in the center of Najd (main city, Unayza); and Jabal Shammar in the north (main city, Ha'il). Because of its geographic isolation, Najd, unlike other areas of the Gulf and Arabian Sea, was not subject to European colonialism. Most of the great camel-herding bedouin ranged at least part of the year in Najd, but the bulk of its permanent population were town dwellers and semi-nomadic oasis gardeners. Najd is today the central administrative district and home to the capital city of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.
— ELEANOR ABDELLA DOUMATO
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